Minus most starters, Ottawa Redblacks fall to Montreal Alouettes in CFL pre-season finale
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For much of the Ottawa Redblacks’ pre-season finale at TD Place, it looked like the highlight of the night would stand as the lightning storm — which included high winds and toonie-sized hail pellets — that delayed the start of the game by almost an hour.
The excitement meter spiked a couple of times, but overall, CFL followers in the nation’s capital have to be happy the regular season kicks off with the Redblacks’ visit to Saskatchewan on Thursday for a game against the Roughriders.
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The Redblacks sat most starters to take a look at players on the bubble, and the results were predictable in a sloppy 24-16 loss to the Montreal Alouettes on Friday night.
Ottawa’s 1-1 preseason includes a 23-7 win in Montreal last week.
Former Redblacks quarterback Caleb Evans had an easy time moving the ball against his old team in early, limited action, completing eight of 11 pass attempts for 111 yards and running for a touchdown to help the Alouettes to a 17-7 halftime lead.
The Ottawa points to that point were scored on a one-yard keeper play by quarterback Matt Shiltz, who started the game and completed just two-of-two passes, including a 31-yarder to Andre Miller, in one quarter of work.
While the depth chart tentatively has the more experienced Shiltz as the backup to No. 1 QB Dru Brown, the offence didn’t find any rhythm of note until the Nos. 3 and 4 names on the list, Dustin Crum and Tyrie Adams, split the final 45 minutes.
Did they do enough to influence head coach Bob Dyce’s decision on the next man up should Brown go down?
Only time will tell.
“Tonight’s not the only evaluation,” Dyce said after the game, referring to the three QBs as “very talented guys who have a solid handle on the offence”, which on this night was playing behind and surrounded by depth players or men that will soon be looking for work elsewhere. “We’ve been evaluating these guys for a number of weeks now. It’s a very close competition amongst the three, and it’s going to be like the whole roster … there’s going to be some tough decisions that have to be made.”
The Redblacks will finalize that roster on Saturday, and while Shiltz, Crum and Adams will remain in Ottawa, only two of them will be dressed for Thursday’s game.
Against the Alouettes, Crum completed eight of 13 passes for 96 yards and reminded one and all he can run with the ball, even if he is a little quick to do so, as the Redblacks’ leading rusher with seven carries for 43 yards.
His most consistent moments came in directling three consecutive first downs, but he also led the Redblacks into scoring position (with the help of a 38-yard reception by running back Elijah Collins) that stalled with a third and goal situation from the three yard line that Dyce chose to kick a field goal that would make it a one-score game rather than get some red zone work for a offence that has struggled in that area.
Adams, who completed nine of 18 passes for 82 yards and carried the ball four times for 34 more, provided hope for a different result.
One of his runs was a nine-yard scoring jaunt, and in the last minute, he led a drive that ended near the Montreal 45.
“I liked Tyrie’s mobility,” said Dyce. “It was a situation where we were down and he was able to make some plays with his legs, and from the sideline. I think it did a decent job with his reads. I thought he handled the offence well.”
A member of the Redblacks since 2022, Adams has shown flashes of brilliance in a body of actual game work that’s been minuscule because of injuries.
But while adding some off-season muscle to a frame that’s listed at 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, he has maintained a positive attitude with his “high energy” approach.
“There’s always work to be done,” Adams said in evaluating his performance against Montreal. “I’m a four-year veteran now, so you don’t look at it as a pre-season game, you evaluate yourself as a year four veteran. I still think there’s a lot of work that I need to get done, trusting myself, trusting my eyes … but this is the first year I can honestly say I’ve had complete trust in rookie receivers through a two-week period of training camp of actually getting reps with those guys.
“So it felt good to be back out there, but definitely a lot of work to be done.”
Adams refutes the notion that he has to do more to move up the depth chart because the team’s other quarterbacks have more experience.
“It’s not about doing more, it’s about doing what’s best for you, meaning myself,” said the 28-year-old. “It’s all about how I’m going to work, and how I’m going to put everything in my rearview, no matter what it is. No matter if they named me a starter one week. I still have to put that in my rearview, because once it’s there, it’s now gone.
“So regardless of what’s going on, it’s a great quarterback room here. I love these guys. All of them have the same mindset. We’re going to work and we’re going to see how we can get better today. When you’re in that type of room, you don’t really think about two, three and four. You think about how we can help one, and then how we can help ourselves when we get in, when we get our opportunity. It’s all about being ready to go at any given moment.
“So it’s not when am I going to play, it’s just when my time comes, I’m going to be ready for it.”
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